5. The wealthy wool-merchants, especially in the fourteenth century, spent much on the building and decoration of churches. Some of the finest churches in the eastern and western counties of England owe much to them. Then, too, it was quite a common thing for the various trade guilds in a town to have a little chapel, or an aisle, or an altar in the parish church, which the guild undertook to keep up. One guild tried to outdo the others in this matter. All the craftsmen of those days belonged to a trade guild of some sort, and much good artistic work was done, which found a place in the churches.

6. People took much interest in their churches, and we find them leaving money towards their upkeep, towards making a statue, or doing some carving, or even keeping a light burning. Whatever may have been their reasons for so doing, the fact that they did so is very clear.

7. They used their churches in ways that may seem strange to us; but they looked upon them as their own, and were evidently in many cases proud of them. Each parish annually chose its churchwardens, who had charge of the buildings and the furniture, and these were responsible to the bishop, as well as to the people of the parish. Every now and then the bishop visited the parish, or sent someone to do so in his name. Enquiry was made as to how the priest and the people carried out their duties towards each other. Complaints were heard, and attempts made to set matters right. Some of the reports which were made on such occasions have come down to us, and show often much disorder, and at times much that was evil. But we must not forget that good was also being done then, which was not talked much about.

"The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones."

Summary.—The kings of the fourteenth century were Edward II, Edward III, and Richard II. There was much ornamental stone-work then done; aisles were added to the naves, and towers and spires built. Altar tombs came much into use, with effigies, panelled sides, coloured shields of arms, and rich carving. The Black Death divided the century into two parts, and work done after that time was often much poorer than before, because the country was poorer. As the century went on, building revived. The great wool-merchants of the east and west of England were great church-builders. Trade guilds often looked after parts of churches. People were proud of their churches, and often left presents to them in their wills. Churchwardens, who had charge of the churches, were important officers at that period.

[CHAPTER XXX]
CLERKS

1. Changes took place much more slowly in the Middle Ages than they do now. First of all, the population was very much smaller, and hundreds and hundreds of acres, now covered by big manufacturing towns, were then unoccupied land.

2. At the time of the Norman Conquest the whole population of England only numbered about 2,000,000 people; and in the time of King Henry VII it was only 4,000,000; so that, in the course of 400 years, the population had only doubled itself.